CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Hearing a knock at her front door the following day, Ella blew out a trembly breath and twisted her fingers. She knew it would be Luka, since she'd just buzzed him into the building.

"Want me to get it?" asked Jester, moving slightly as it to lift the elbow he'd rested on the fire mantel. Both he and Dice were here to guard their president while Ella broke the news about the pregnancy, concerned that Luka and his own guards might attack Viper.

Not an unnecessary concern, unfortunately.

"No. No, I'll do it." Her belly rolling with nerves, she glanced at Viper over her shoulder. He looked casual as anything, his arms loosely folded, his hip propped against the kitchen doorjamb. Behind him, Mia poured drinks while Dice leaned against the counter.

"You've got this, Ella," Viper assured her.

Another knock, this one harder.

Muttering beneath her breath, she padded over to the front door and pulled it open. Luka stood on the other side of it, his guards close behind him. Ella smiled. "Hey. Glad you could make it," she said, backing up for them to enter.

They stalked inside … and then went completely still. Luka's gaze darted from Jester to Viper.

As she half-turned so that she no longer had her back to Viper, the archangel inclined his head at her anchor and smoothly greeted, "Belinsky."

Luka's brow furrowed. "The fuck are you doing here?"

She snorted. "Charming."

Luka refocused on her. "Why would you have invited these three to a family dinner?"

"I'll explain that once Melodie and Jocelyn get here. It's a long story, and there's no point in me starting to tell it to you only to have to restart it once they arrive."

Luka pressed his lips together and stared at Viper, his gaze now speculative. "You know … it once occurred to me that you hang on the periphery of Ella's life. I didn't think much of it at the time. Now I'm wondering if maybe I should have."

Viper stared at him steadily, one corner of his mouth ever so slightly bowing up.

Ella inwardly sighed, having no faith that the upcoming conversation would go well. There was no way to reveal the overall picture—minus certain details, of course—that would result in merely smiles and a round of congratulations.

Luka turned to her, folding his arms. "What's this about?"

She straightened. "I told you, I'll explain everything when my mom and Jocelyn get here."

"Or you could do it now."

She didn't, but he carried on pestering her to spill something right up until the intercom buzzed again.

As expected, it turned out to be her mother and aunt. Ella admitted them into the building and soon after opened the apartment door wide for them. They breezed inside, their smiles easy. Smiles that froze when they spotted the Black Saints.

Melodie turned to Ella. "Something's wrong, isn't it?" she guessed, her smile flitting away. "What's happened?"

"And why are they here?" asked Jocelyn, so much contempt lacing the word ‘they'.

Closing the door, Ella inwardly sighed. "Let's all go sit down." She turned and headed straight to the kitchen. Viper backed up, allowing her to pass.

At the table, Mia briefly looked up, clearly a bag of nerves. "Hi, everyone." Her greeting was just a little too bright. Each and every guest narrowed their eyes on Dice, who still leaned against the counter. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"I hope you're going to in the meantime explain what's happening, because I can't wait until after we're finished eating," declared Melodie.

Ella gave a slow nod and settled at the head of the table. "Everyone please sit."

Luka took the chair directly across from her, Melodie claimed the seat on Mia's right, and Jocelyn sat beside Melodie. Viper stood behind Ella's chair while Jester stood beside Dice. Luka's guards planted themselves at his back, their uneasy gazes flitting from celestial to celestial.

"Well?" Melodie prodded, anxious.

Ella calmly rested her hands on the table and linked her fingers. "It would help if you could all stay quiet until I've finished talking, because there's a lot to unpack."

"We'll say nothing," agreed Melodie with a nod.

Ella subtly heaved in a long breath. "First of all, I'm pregnant."

" What? " her mother burst out. "You are joking!"

"Oh my God, who's the father?" demanded Jocelyn. Her eyes drifted to Viper, and her body went still. "Please don't tell me it's him ."

Ella clamped her lips together.

A growl rumbled out of Luka. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

And then the ranting began.

The comments were mostly disparaging remarks about the Fallen and an insistence that celestials and demons shouldn't mix. Each one rang with outrage and something close to horror.

Sighing, Ella briefly exchanged a tired look with Mia. It had been too much to hope for that the others would give her a chance to explain, wasn't it? Especially when Viper's very presence would make them react more negatively, what with him unintentionally spreading wrath around—he only had so much control over it. Hence why he'd earlier said that if it looked as if things would get out of hand, he'd leave the room.

Ella raised a palm to silent the shouts. "I'd appreciate it if you could stop bashing celestials, since the child in my womb is not only part celestial but advanced enough to understand everything you say."

A stunned silence descended.

Jocelyn shook her head, confused. "You don't have a bump, how pregnant are you?"

"I'm not sure exactly." Ella scratched at her arm. "Roughly three weeks. The prenatal scan wasn't very clear."

"You've already had a scan?" asked Melodie, sounding hurt that she'd only heard about it now.

Ella nodded. "I had it yesterday. I wanted to be sure all looked good before I passed on the news."

"Was it a one-night stand?" asked Luka, his voice toneless, his expression vacant.

"No. Viper and I are together."

A muscle in her anchor's jaw flexed, and she saw a snake-like shape writhe beneath the skin of his throat. "How long has it been going on?"

If you counted the first time they'd had sex, which she did … "About a month."

Mia raised a hand. "Also, I just want to throw out that Dice and I are knee-deep in a fling."

Their mother's eyes fell shut, and Jocelyn's jaw dropped.

"This is just unbelievable," muttered Melodie, lifting her eyelids. "I honestly think I might be sick."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Stop being dramatic and listen . Ella is sitting here telling you that she's in a happy, solid relationship. Isn't that what you want for her?"

"Not if her partner is a fallen angel I don't, no."

Luka fixed Ella with a hard stare. "I suspected you were seeing someone, because you were smiling all the fucking time. You swore I was wrong; told me you were happy being single. You lied."

Ella scratched at her temple. "You were asking too many questions. I wanted to shut the line of conversation down fast so, yes, I told a little white lie."

"It doesn't matter if it's little or white, it's still a lie," reprimanded Melodie. "You lied to all of us by saying nothing of this until now."

Annoyance surged through both Ella and her demon. "And you're all entitled to know my private business, are you? Is that what we're doing now, sharing our innermost secrets with each other? Sweet. You go first, Mom."

Melodie briefly looked away. "This isn't the time for smartass-ness."

"That isn't a word," said Mia.

Melodie shrugged. "Who cares? You should have told us."

"Why?" Viper challenged. "You haven't told your daughters how you usually spend your Friday evenings. The harbinger's name is Clarence, right?"

Ella blinked. Wait, what?

Watching her mother's cheeks warm, Mia spoke, "You're seeing someone?"

Viper's attention shot to Jocelyn. "Or we could talk about how much time and money you spend at the hellhound racing stadium."

Melodie gaped at her sister. "You promised you'd given up gambling."

Jocelyn looked down at her lap, her jaw going tight.

As Viper's gaze settled on Luka, the legion stiffened and warned, "Careful."

Viper shrugged. "I'll watch my words if you'll watch yours."

Jocelyn notched up her chin as she glared at him. "Are you an archangel? An ex-member of the Seven?"

Ella bristled. "Why is it you think you have the right to demand answers from him?"

"They're pertinent questions," Jocelyn insisted, a sass to her.

"You're just looking for reasons to imply he's not good for me."

"I don't need to find reasons, they're already there. Or have you forgotten that our relatives suffered dearly at the hands of his kind?"

"But not at his hands. Viper had nothing to do with it."

Jocelyn gave a dismissive shake of her head. "It doesn't matter. They can't be trusted. They betrayed even their own kind by jumping ship and turning their back on their realm."

She gritted her teeth. "Recall that the baby understands what you say."

Sensing his woman was getting worked up, Viper placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "I shouldn't have to point this out," he said to the others, "but it ain't good for a pregnant woman to be stressed, so maybe you can dial shit down." It was a pressing suggestion.

Melodie pulled in a breath and made a visible effort to dig for calm. "What happens when he's decided he wants to head on back to the upper realm, Ella? Where does that leave you?"

"Not a chance would I ever go back there," Viper told her. "I wouldn't leave Ella and our baby for anything."

Ella carefully placed the ultrasound picture on the table. "It's a little fuzzy, but … "

Melodie carefully lifted it, her face softening as she greedily soaked in the image there. She reluctantly passed it to Jocelyn, whose gaze warmed as she stared down at it. Jocelyn held it up for Belinsky to see, and the legion took a long look at it.

Exhaling heavily, Melodie reclaimed the image and then gently set it on the table. She rubbed at her neck. "I'm happy about the baby, sweetheart. Children are always a blessing. And I want to be happy for you. I just … "

"We'd prefer that you weren't going to shack up with one of the Fallen," Jocelyn finished.

"I would never have guessed," Ella deadpanned. "So you'd rather I was a single parent?"

"Yes. No. Ugh." Melodie shook her head hard as if to clear it.

" I would," claimed Jocelyn. "Setting aside that he's a fallen angel, he's also a biker. They're all the same. Misogynistic. Irresponsible. Reckless. They only care about their ‘brothers' and being ‘free'."

Mia frowned. "Oh, and you would know this how? Do you hang with bikers? Have you ever spoken to one until now? Or are you just babbling clichés?"

"You can feel however you want to feel about me being a celestial and a biker," said Viper, his voice deadly calm. "What you won't do is make me turn away from Ella. I'm here to stay. You might as well accept it." Viper personally doubted that would happen here and now, though.

Catching Viper's eye, Luka unfolded from his chair and plucked at one cuff. "You and I should chat," he said, tipping his chin toward the living room. "In private."

Ella stilled. "Luka—"

"It's fine, baby," Viper assured her, having already anticipated that the legion would want to talk with him alone. "Stay here."

Ella pinned her anchor with a look. "If you hurt him … "

"I won't, but I am going to make my feelings clear." Luka indicated for his guards to remain in position and then strode out of the kitchen.

Stay here , Viper telepathically ordered his brothers. He followed the legion into the living room, finding him stood in its center—feet planted, arms folded, expression alive with fury.

Luka snarled. "The only reason I haven't ripped your throat out is that—much as it pisses me off—I can see that Ella cares about you. Why she does, I don't know. She can do a fuck of a lot better than you. She deserves a lot better than you."

"I'm not gonna argue that," said Viper.

"But you're gonna be a selfish fucking bastard and stick around."

"You'd rather I walked away and left her to raise our baby alone?"

"There wouldn't be a baby if you'd protected her. But you didn't. You scrapped the condom and didn't care about the consequences, just as you don't care that you being in her life endangers her."

Annoyance tap-danced all over Viper's skin. "You're making assumptions, and they're bullshit."

"What's bullshit is you having the fucking nerve to stand here and act like I'm not entitled to disapprove of your presence in her life," Luka clipped, getting up in his face.

Viper felt his jaw tighten. "Having you in her life puts Ella at risk to some degree. You didn't walk away from her. That make you selfish as well?"

Luka pressed his lips tight together. "There's a difference. I protect her. You don't. The strix … it was no coincidence that she happened to be around when they attacked your brother. She got caught up in that because she's with you."

"And they died for trying to harm her, so I did protect her."

"But you didn't have the balls to tell me the truth when I turned up at that scene. You kept silent while she blew smoke up my ass."

"Because she didn't feel comfortable telling you about our relationship—and that, Belinsky, is on you."

"Me?"

"You're her anchor. Someone she should be able to trust to always have her back, no matter her choices. But she didn't trust that you would in this case. And she was right not to, wasn't she? She's the injured party here, not you. Not her mother. Not her aunt. Ella. "

Luka snapped his mouth shut, something wriggling beneath the skin along his jawline.

Viper inwardly sighed. He didn't want to be at odds with his woman's anchor—it'd be something that would hurt her. And truth be told, Luka wasn't a bad guy. Just exceedingly overprotective. And nobody could claim that the legion's concerns weren't valid.

Still, Viper wasn't going anywhere; he needed the guy to see that. "You're not gonna believe this, because you're too busy clinging to your anger. Fact is, though, that Ella means a fuck of a lot to me. More than you can know. I love her."

Luka's expression didn't alter. "You're right, I don't believe it."

Just then, Ella entered the room; the others trailed behind her.

"Everything's fine, baby," Viper assured her, not liking the worry on her face. Addressing her anchor, mother, and aunt, he said, "To be blunt, I don't give the first fuck how anyone here feels about me other than Ella. But I do care that this is a time when she needs the support of the people around her. No one other than Mia and my club are giving it to her right now. That should bother all three of you."

Silence fell as the trio exchanged unhappy looks.

Ella's mind bumped Viper's. They're not going to back down, are they?

Not right now, no. Though his presence likely wasn't helping, his absence wouldn't improve the situation either. They were too worked up.

Ella sighed. "Maybe you should go," she told them.

Melodie's eyes widened. "What? You're kicking us out?"

"We're just going round and round in circles, and I refuse to keep defending my choices as if any of you have a right to make them for me," Ella clipped. "I'm also not going to tolerate you spouting more mean and petty remarks. So unless you're going to quit with that, yes, I think you should leave."

For a few moments, nobody moved.

"Congratulations on your pregnancy, Ella," Luka said stiffly, though the words weren't empty. "I can't claim to approve of your choice of father for the baby. I want you safe. He is not safe. On the contrary, he's a highly dangerous being."

"Never to Ella," Viper firmly asserted.

Belinsky responded with a blank look. Without another word to anyone, he left with his guards.

Melodie smoothed a hand down her top. "We'll leave, Ella, but not because we're unhappy about the baby. I want to be clear on that. We'll go because to stay would only be to disrespect your wishes and make the situation worse. I don't want that."

Looking troubled, Melodie and Jocelyn then absconded.

Viper stroked Ella's hair. "Well … did it all go worse or better than you expected?"

"Neither. It was as ugly as I'd thought it would be. What did Luka say to you?"

"Just that he thinks you can do better—I don't disagree there—and he feels you'd be safer if I wasn't around. I can't really disagree with that either, but I'm going nowhere. I made that clear to him, and I was also clear about how much you mean to me. Give him time; he'll back down. They all will."

Ella squinted slightly, an accusing light in her eyes that was tempered by a warm amusement. "You went digging into their business."

He shrugged. "I suspected they'd yell at you, and I wanted to be able to shut that shit down fast."

"I'm sorry they all acted like dicks to you."

He lightly splayed his hand around the front of her neck, the weight of his palm barely there, the pads of his fingers featherlight. Yet, his possessiveness came through loud and clear. "I get it. Luka … he's just overprotective. Your mother and aunt were bound to react badly. Their ancestors—"

"Weren't killed by you, so no one should be trying to hold you accountable for it," Ella finished, sliding her hands up his chest. "My hope is that they'll come round soon, but it's more likely that they'll drag their heels in silent protest."

"I'm sorry about that for your sake, but I won't give a flying fuck if they don't accept me. All that matters to me is that they don't talk you into leaving my side."

"They could try. Probably will. But it won't work."

"Promise?" he asked, searching her gaze.

"Promise."

Viper's lips curved. "That's my girl."

Yes, yes, she was.